The Blazing Sword: A Tale of Anarion Elendil
by Anarion Star-Dragon
Summary: Anson is a recent college graduate taking a vacation in New Orleans and gets sucked up into the continent of Elibe. Will he discover who he truly is or is he just a young man in unusual circumstances? FE7&6
1. Prologue: A Girl on the Plains

A/N: Okay, so I know this type of story is a little overused but hey why not, I know I am still working on another story, but this story is flowing out of me now so I will start it today. Constructive criticism is always helpful and appreciated.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem or the names made up by Tolkien. I simply use the names since I find them cool.

**Beginning of a New Chapter: A Tale of Anarion Elendil**

**Prologue: A Girl on the Plains**

Who am I? Well I certainly would like to know that. I appear not to have much of my memory left to me. I do not remember much of my past I do distinctly remember walking the crowded streets of New Orleans and running into a fortune teller. She told me many things in an old but powerful tone. Among those things she told me were, "You are a mover and a shaker of fate young man. In the past, present and future; although I know not how that can be it is your destiny."

"Destiny? I don't believe in destiny or fate for that matter ma'am."  
"You call me ma'am when you obviously are a Yankee, where are you from?"

"Cleveland, Ohio"

"Nay, you believe you are from there but in fact you are from much further away than that."

"What do you mean? I was born in the Cleveland Area!"

"You may have been but you were truly born in Europe or Asia long ago. The bones never lie and that is what they say about you."

"How can you be so certain? I am only twenty years old."

"Mister Anson I understand you truly believe what you are saying but the truth is far different than you believe."  
"I never said my name! How did you know it ma'am?" 

"I know because the spirits told me the name you go by now. You have used it before, but not for a long time. You in fact are a man of many names throughout time, though it seems you have forgotten much."

"I'm leaving, there is nothing to your fortune telling but cheap tricks."  
"Heh, very well, then let me give you some good advice, go to the bar at the end of this street and talk to an old, balding man wearing glasses. Tell him Madame Olga sent you as way of an apology. He will get you a good drink."

"Thank you Madame Olga, I'm sorry for disturbing you." And with that I left for the bar at the end of the street. It was called the Blazing Rapier.

As the young man walked away Madame Olga smiled. She knew that the man had a destiny and she would see that he fulfilled it despite his beliefs. She knew many were skeptical of her type's abilities and many did it for the novelty of it, as the young man did. This Anson was nothing of who he thought he was. He was in fact not truly human despite seeming to be so. The bones had told her many things of him. Of his ancient past, of which he seemed to know nothing about to some of his potential deeds in the future. Her friend at the bar would push Anson towards his destiny one way or another. It seemed that one of the four Lord Wizards had been missing for some time. But the missing one was certainly not dead either. Perhaps Anson was that one. It was said that Anarion Elendil had disappeared nearly 25 years ago. To a Randiran 25 years was only a quarter of a year and Anarion was young for a Randiran or a Lord Wizard, only 1800 years old. After all, the life expectancy of a Randiran was about 7000 to 9000 years old.

They were an awfully independent lot from religion as a whole, and very few actually meddled in human affairs anymore. This was due to their wish to redress the balance. Thus they would sometimes fight for good and sometimes not depending on the place and time. But she knew many would only fight for one side, and if there was not real balance, they would tend to stand aside if their side was too powerful. Anarion however was a man who was committed to fighting against the Dark Lords, more than most other Lord Wizards even. She would soon see which universe that boy was sent to help. It would depend on his strengths and weaknesses of course.

As I walking into the Blazing Rapier I was slightly surprised that it appeared to be so empty, despite it being the middle of the day. I quickly spotted the man that Madame Olga told me about and walked up to him.

"You seem a little young to be coming in here for a drink at this time of the day or any time for that matter boy." The old man drawled.

"I was sent here by Madame Olga. She told me to come to you about a drink on her as way of an apology. Nothing very bitter would be best."

The man suddenly nodded and went behind the bar to mix the drink up for me. It appeared to be something like a White Russian. I was a little bit of vodka and Kalua, with some milk and then I couldn't tell what else. Finally he handed it to me with a "on the house". I smelled it, it had an unfamiliar smell, and it smelled like grass, with a hint kalua. It also wasn't the chocolate color; rather it was an earthy color, some green mixed with brown. I assumed the green to be some sort of addition for texture.

I took a sip. It was surprisingly very tasty, barely any vodka taste to it at all. I grinned at the man and gave him a complement on the drink, the man smiled and responded with, "Drink up, that is the best compliment to a bartender."

And so I did. After finishing the drink I suddenly felt dizzy and quickly passed out. The last thing I thought before passing out was that I never should have listened to the fortune teller, she had gotten me drugged and I probably would end either dead or stripped of all my belongings.

I awoke much to my surprise. Yet when I woke the smells were nothing like that of the city of New Orleans. I must have been moved after passing out by those who worked for or with that damn bartender. But the smells were nothing like what I learned of smells in Louisiana or most of the other parts of the county I had been to for that matter. My thoughts were interrupted when a feminine voice interrupted.

"Are you awake? I found you unconscious on the plains. I am Lyn, of the Lorca tribe. You're safe now. Who are you? Can you remember your name?"

"My name? It is Anson. It is nice to meet you Lyn." I saw no reason to be discourteous to a woman who was strikingly attractive. Although, her hair was rather strangely colored. Who has green hair? I never have seen hair with that color being natural. But who am I to judge since I still had never had a proper girlfriend before, I was not at all picky about women so long as they seemed to have a good personality. Once again my ponderings were interrupted.

"Your name is Anson? What an odd-sounding name... But pay me no mind. It is a good name. I see by your attire that you are a traveler. What brings you to the Sacae Plains? Would you share your story with me?"

Before I could answer any of her questions about me she suddenly heard something and spoke, "Hm? What was that noise? I'll go see what's happening. Anson, wait here for me." With that she rushed off. I noticed that she had a sword strapped to her hip. That was odd, I was one of the minority in my time that really liked swords and people did not go just carrying them around. Let alone a katana like she was wearing. I quickly got out of bed to try and help her as well as to try to figure out where the hell I was. Wait, attire of a traveler? I looked down and saw that instead of my jeans and t-shirt I wore a green tunic with brown pants. Brown boots had replaced my shoes and I wore a cloak.

It was then that I remembered what she had said, Sacae plains? There was no such place on earth. I did not study a lot of geography, but I knew most of the major places in the world and their names. The Sacae plains were never given as a name. Could I be in a different world? Such thought excited me; I had always liked fiction books and imagined being in the world of such. Maybe this would happen to me. I figured I might as well go with the flow. I might never have a chance at this sort of thing again. Even if all this was a dream, I was not going to squander it.

"What you want to help?" At my nod she asked "Can you use a weapon?"

I looked at her katana and then said not so much with a katana, I have no weapons on me but I am a tactician in training."

"Ah, I see... So you're a strategist by trade? An odd profession, but... Very well. We'll go together!"

And with that the two of us left the hut to take care of the bandits.

"Over here! If you want to help, Anson, I could use your advice. I'll protect you, so stay close to me" I nodded despite the indignity of being protected by a woman instead of protecting her. Chivalry is not dead even in the north of the US.

As we stalked up to where the bandits were, there were only two of them. Suddenly one of the two spotted us and charged. Quickly Lyn drew her sword and cut the man down to size. Yet as she did so she was hit by the axe. Even with the injury she smiled and called out, "Victory! But I've been injured. I have need of a vulnerary." As she said this she indicated her pouch on her side. I quickly got out what she was indicating and looked at Lyn. She motioned expectantly for me to pour the contents onto her wound. So I did so. To my amazement the wound healed right away. I was used to bandages. These vulneraries were potent and had some magical property to them I would have scoffed at such an idea before, but with the truth staring me in the face I had to accept that wherever I was magic was defiantly possible. This place was getting cooler and cooler.

After it was finished Lyn got up and said, "There's another bandit over by the ger to the west. You don't know what a ger is? It's a type of round hut. Many nomads live in huts like these."

I saw what she was talking about and nodded with that we quickly headed over towards the final bandit. As Lyn was about to engage him the bandit called out, "Who do you think you are? You think you can stand up to Batta the Beast?"

Before either he or I could get a word in edgewise Lyn was on the attack and had struck Batta twice. However she left herself open to an attack from Batta and he quickly smashed his axe into Lyn hurting her badly but not killing her. She turned to me and desperately told me, "Whew! He's tough... It all comes down to this next blow. Anson, if I fall, I want you to flee. You must escape!"

I knew that was the sensible thing to do, but I would not abandon the one who found me and nursed me back to health, I owed her a debt, and I would see it repaid.

Luckily Lyn was able to finish Batta off before he could even come close to making a strike on her. Lyn had moved almost as fast as the wind I just saw a blur of speed from her and Batta fell dead to the ground. Needless to say I was impressed by the show of speed and skill.

"Whew... That was close. I sorely underestimated him. Sorry if I worried you. I'll need to be stronger if I'm going to survive... Strong enough that no one can defeat me."

That was something I never expected to hear from the mouth of a woman but I could understand why Lyn wanted this. It was so that she could stop any bandit from hurting others. She defiantly had a noble and caring soul.

"Good work, Anson! Let's go home." And with that we returned to the tent that I had woken up in. Both of us were very tired. I was from still feeling the effects from the drugs; and Lyn from fighting and her injuries. I tended to the injuries Lyn got with a vulnerary. We were soon fast asleep in our respective places.

It seemed soon since I fell asleep I was pleasantly awakened by a cheerful, "Good morning, Anson! Are you awake yet? That fight yesterday must have taken a lot out of you. Say, Anson... I want to talk to you about something. You have some experience in the ways of war, I can see. Would you allow me to travel with you?"

"That's a lot of questions at once Lyn. I wouldn't mind having you join me in my travels, but you are young, what about your parents? Wouldn't they be worried about you if you just up and left them?"

"What? You... want me to get permission from my parents?"  
By the look on her face I could tell I had hit a touchy subject with her. And added a hasty, "I'm sorry if I said anything that hurt you Lyn."

"My mother and my father... died six months ago. My people—the Lorca—they don't... I'm the last of my tribe. Bandits attacked, and... they killed so many people. The tribe was shattered. My father was our chieftain, and I tried to protect our people. But I'm so young, and our people were old-fashioned. They wouldn't follow a woman. No one would follow me. Sniff... I'm sorry. I've been alone for so long... No. No more. I will shed no more tears. ..."

She covered her face for a couple minutes while I feeling a bit awkward just put my hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you. I'm better now. Anson, I want. I must become stronger, so that I may avenge my father's death! Yesterday's battle taught me something. I won't become stronger by sitting here alone. Anson, tell me you'll train me, that you'll let me travel with you!"

"Of course you can come. I will help you and you will help me. I would like to learn how to use a sword from you while we travel as well. I do like to learn new things. I will teach you what I can in exchange."

"You will? That's just wonderful! Thank you! Oh, thank you! We'll be better off working together, I know it. You'll be my master strategist, and I'll be your peerless warrior! We can do it! Right?"

"Of course we can. We will travel the plains and the rest of the world if you wish to." And so the two of us prepared to travel, but first we would need some supplies for the travel of two people.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Footsteps of Fate

After a couple of days journey Lyn and I had finally reached our first destination, what looked like a large marketplace and town that went with it. It was not really big by the standards I was used to but Lyn had explained to me that most who9 lived on the plains were nomads, so I hadn't expected much in the way of size of cities.

"Anson! Over here! This is Bulgar, the biggest city in all of Sacae. We should purchase supplies for our journey."

"I will get the meat; you can purchase a weapon for yourself." She handed me a small pouch of gold. I knew that I would need to find a weapon that suited me. I had trained with swords in my world, but that was competitive, not killing style. Finally I settled on getting an iron sword, about 2.5 feet long blade with a scabbard and a couple of knives for throwing that I could hide about my person. When I returned to the meat market to find Lyn I found her getting frustrated by a man on horseback in green armor as I approached I heard, "Wait, O beauteous one! Would you not favor me with your name? Or better yet, your company?"

To which Lyn responded, "Where are you from, sir knight, that you speak so freely to a stranger?"

"Ha! I thought you'd never ask. I am from Lycia. I hail from the Caelin canton, home to men of passion and fire!"

"Shouldn't that be "home to callow oafs with loose tongues?"

"Ooooh... You're even lovely when you're cruel."

"Let's go, Anson. I've nothing more to say." And with that she began to drag me off and out of the city that is until she found not just the green knight but a knight in red on horseback also in the way. As the two men spoke Lyn walked up to them and said quite pointedly, "Excuse me! You're blocking the road. If you would be so kind as to move your horses..."

The red knight quickly responded, "Of course. My apologies..."

"Thank you. You, at least, seem honorable enough."

"Hm? Pardon me, but... I feel we've met before."

"I beg your pardon?" That was when the green knight interjected,

"Hey! No fair, Kent! I saw her first!"

At that Lyn was very perturbed and I knew better than to disagree with her for some time after this misadventure. "Tsk! It seems there are no decent men among Lycia's knights! Let's go, Anson! I've run out of patience!"

And with that we left rather quickly. Not just the square of where we were at, but left the entire city of Bulgar so that we could continue our journey. Unfortunately we soon had the feeling that we were being followed by someone,

"Run! We're being pursued! Could it be those knights from town? No... It's not them. These men are out for blood!" With that we found ourselves surrounded by bandits but these ones were much more organized that Lyn had dispatched earlier. And like most bandits in this era it seemed, they were ugly as could be. Suddenly the man who appeared to be the leader stepped forward, "Heh heh heh... Aren't you the pretty one! Your name is Lyndis, is it not?"

"What did you call me? ...Who are you?"

"Such a waste. An absolute waste. The things I'd do for gold... Ah, well. Time to die, darling! C'mon out, boys!" At that the rest of the group appeared before us. I subtly prepared the sword at my back and checked the throwing knives in my sleeves. I wasn't much good with the knives yet, but they might buy us some time at least. I knew if I drew my sword, I would be separated and in all likelihood. That was when Lyn turned to me,"Oh no! There are more than I can handle... But I'll not give up!" Then as is from the air we heard, "Hey! There she is!"

The bandits seemed surprised when suddenly the two knights that had annoyed Lyn earlier that day suddenly rode up on their mounts. With that the green one, Sain, spoke up, "Whew... Finally caught up... Hold! You there! What is your business? Such numbers against a girl? Cowards, every one of you!"

"You! You're from?" Lyn asked surprised, as was I. The other one then spoke, "We can discuss that later. It appears these ruffians mean to do you harm. If it's a fight they want, let them look to me!"

"Stand back! I'll take care of this!"

"No! This is my fight! Stay out of my way!" Lyn was adamant on fighting and not getting help from these two, it was clear to me that we were going to need help to defeat the bandits, so I stepped forward. As I did so I heard,

"I have a solution. You there, command us. I am Kent, a knight of Lycia. My companion is Sain. We will follow your orders in this battle. Is that acceptable, milady?"

"Yes, it is. Anson and I will lead! Let's go!" With that Lyn and I moved forward together, her doing most of the fighting while I did a fair bit of distraction, not a bunch but just enough for the bandits to quickly be struck down by Lyn.

After all of the bandits were finally taken care of there was only the leader left. Lyn ran straight up to the man in a charge. With a quick motion she disarmed the man and dealt a fatal blow. Before the man died I heard his final words, "Blast...There was only...supposed to be a lone...girl..."

With that Lyn and I turned our attention to Kent and Sain in the background.

"And now for these knights of Lycia. You were going to share your story with me?"\

It was Kent who began to answer Lyn's questions, "Yes. We have ventured from Caelin, in Lycia, in search of someone."

"Lycia... That's the country beyond the mountains in the south-west, isn't it?"

"Correct. We've come as messengers to the lady Madelyn, who eloped with a nomad some 19 years ago."

"Madelyn?"

"Our lord the Marquess of Caelin's only daughter. He was heartbroken his own daughter would abandon him so. Eventually, the Marquess simply declared that he had no daughter."

"And then, this year, we received a letter from Lady Madelyn. It said she, her husband, and their daughter were living happily on the Sacae plains. The Marquess was ecstatic to learn he had a granddaughter of 18 years. I remember the smile on his face when he announced that he'd suddenly become a grandfather. The granddaughter's name is Lyndis. This was also the name of the Marquess's wife, who passed away at an early age." Sain interjected

"Lyndis?"

"That she should bear this name thawed the Marquess's heart. Now, his only wish is to meet his daughter's family at least once. This is why we're here. We didn't know that Lady Madelyn died a few days after sending her letter... We only learnt this shortly after arriving here in Bulgar."

"But we also learned all was not lost. Her daughter yet lives. We heard that she was living alone on the plains... I... I knew it immediately. You are the lady Lyndis." Kent answered.

"Why would you think that..."

"Your resemblance to your departed mother is remarkable."

"What? Did you know my mother?"

"I'm sorry to say that I never met her directly, but I saw her portraits in Castle Caelin."

"To the rest of my tribe, I was always Lyn. But when I was with my parents... When it was just the three of us, I was Lyndis. It's all so strange. I was all alone in the world, and now I have a grandfather. Lyndis... I never thought I would hear that name again."

As the silence continued on for a moment I spoke up, "Hold on, that man that attacked us called you Lyndis didn't he?"  
As the words left my mouth realization seemed to hit both knights at the same time. It was Sain who had the most coherent response of the three, "He was a henchman of Lord Lundgren, wasn't he?"

"Lundgren? Who's that?" Lyn asked quickly.

"He's the Marquess's younger brother. Everyone assumed the lady Madelyn was gone forever. This made Lord Lundgren heir to the Marquess's title." Was Kent's response

"To be blunt, milady, your existence is an obstacle to your granduncle's ambitions." Sain added.

"That's- But I have no interest in inheriting any title!"

"Unfortunately, your granduncle is not the sort of man to believe that. I believe the attempts on your life will persist."

"What should I do?"

"Accompany us to Caelin. Continuing on this way is dangerous."

At this I didn't think was completely true, they would be getting closer to Caelin and thus closer to the belly of the beast. Had I not already decided to travel with Lyn wherever she went along the road she took for the time being I would have heartily suggested not doing what they say and instead going further west and joining up with a tribe or going to another nation for protection. But it was her choice. I could also tell her mind was already made up to go to Caelin.

"I feel I have little choice. I will go with you." She then finally turned to me for my input.

"Anson... I'm sorry. This changes everything. What do you want me to do, Joshua? You... want me to decide? Of course, your companionship would do much to ease my journey, but... It's going to be so dangerous."

I shrugged, "It's not as if I have anywhere I must be right now. I would be happy to go with you, besides, I need to explore the world more. I want to see it."

Lyn seemed absolutely delighted by this, "You'll come? Are you sure? Thank you! Let me ask once again for your friendship and your aid." As she said this she was hugging me tightly. I am used to getting hugs on occasion but this intimate hug made me begin to blush. I noticed that Kenta and Sain were watching with some slight amount of amusement on their faces. This was particularly evident on Sain's face, probably being the romantic acting knight that he is. And so the two had become four.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Sword of Spirits

I rose earlier than usual the next morning and took a look at the map that Kent and Sain had. I had asked if I could take a look at it last night. I had spent most of the night listening the Lyn, Kent and Sain talk about their lands. To me Lycia seemed like at good place to go since I now knew that there was no way that I could possibly be in my world. The map looked similar to Europe but not entirely. There were subtle and large changes in many ways. But the description of the Lycia made me feel more at home. A confederation of states, each with its own interests but would band together in times of trouble. It sounded a lot like the United States, except of course that the US was a democracy.

This brought up the thought of how the hell did I get into this world? Was it that drink the bartender gave me; no that was plainly impossible. The drink must have been drugged and this must be a dream. But logic told me that wasn't necessarily the case I could feel pain and my head was completely clear. That conclusion meant that there were multiple worlds and I was in another one than my own. As I pondered this Lyn finally woke up. I greeted her and then handed her a cup of tea that I had been brewing while she and the others were asleep. She smiled and thanked me for the drink. It was still cool in the morning that something warm never went amiss.

"Are you going to tell me where you are from? Or do you still not really remember?"

"I would like to tell you but I don't really know. I'm going to continue to investigate the continent to learn where I am from. I have some memories, but they are not that sharp, I only know the tactics and my name and a few other skills. Nothing is really that clear."

" I hope you can find them soon. But still what if you are an entirely different person with your memories? I don't want to lose you like that or at all for that matter. You are one of my closest friends still alive.

Would you mind stopping at the shrine of spirits? I want to get a blessing from the sword at the alter there."

"No I wouldn't mind, nor do I think those two will mind so long as you are able to get the Caelin safely."

"Then you trust them?"

"Not sure yet, but yes I have a good feeling about those two. They will probably the absolutely loyal to you."

"What about you?"

"I'm not sure, if I threatened you, defiantly not. You are their mission. I'm not part of their mission unless I come with you."

"Oh, well then we should get going to the shrine."

And with that the four of us began our short journey to the Shrine that Lyn wanted to go to. As we approached the Shrine a woman ran up to us and turned to Lyn.

"I beg your pardon, milady. Are you headed east? To the altar?"

"Yes, we are indeed."

"Then you must hurry and help the priest there. I saw a band of local ruffians head in there not too long ago. They seemed intent on stealing the altar's sacred sword!"

"The Mani Katti? They're going to steal it? I cannot allow this to happen!"

"You look like a virtuous group. Please, help him!"

With that the woman ran off to the houses in to the south. That was when Kent spoke up,

"If you go to the priest's aid, you'll need to prepare."

"You're right... Say, Anson, there are some homes to the south of us. Perhaps we should go there and question the residents."

"Yes, but we must move quickly. Those bandits will not hang around forever."

With that all four of us quickly ran to the houses and quickly asked some questions. After we met up we learned of the western wall being weakened and an area. Since there were some hills blocky the horses from passing through I decided the wall was our best course of action.

"Kent, Lyn you are to hold off the bandits while Sain breaks down the wall. Once the wall is breached Lyn and Sain will go in and dispatch the bandits inside carefully. Kent will act as the rear-guard and provide support for the rest of us. Then we can rescue the priest wherever he is."

The plan went off without a hitch and soon there was only the leader of the bandits who stood at the shrine with his own sword drawn. As I mentally prepared a plan Lyn shot forward in an attack against the man. As he saw her the man called out, "Who do you think you are? What chance do you think you have against me?"

Lyn didn't respond and just slashed him across the chest. Unfortunately the cut wasn't deep enough so the man was able to retaliate and cut a nasty gash on Lyn's leg. Kent and Sain weren't in any position to attack this so I had to act. The man was far too skilled with his sword for me to take on safely so as he prepared a killing blow on Lyn I quickly and quietly grabbed two of my knives. I knew that these won't work very well I haven't practiced enough, but to me this was now or never. I pulled my arm back and launched the blade.

Much to my amazement the blade flew true and went right into the bandit's neck dropping him instantly. All I heard was a gurgle from the man's throat. I had heard stories from others of what it felt like to kill for the first time. But I felt none of the revulsion described to me. It was as if I had killed someone before though I knew I never had before. Perhaps it was because I was doing it to save the life of someone I cared about. Wait, I care about Lyn? When did this start happening? I guess I'm already growing attached to her. One bad thing is this might very well be a dream. And if it is then I might not want to wake from this dream if I really start to develop feelings for my travel companion.

I then allowed myself to join in the search for the priest or bishop or whatever they call the man or woman who watches over the altar. Finally we found him unharmed in the back room. He was an elderly man and appeared to be bald with long, white, mustaches. He immediately looked at Lyn and then spoke, "Ah, your clothing? Are you of the Lorca tribe?"

"I'm Lyn, the chieftain's daughter. Are you hurt, sir?"

"Thanks to you, I am unscathed. You have my gratitude."

"And the sword? Is it safe?"

"Yes, I have sealed the sword safely away. Until I remove my spell, the sword cannot be drawn. Now, as a token of my gratitude, I shall allow you to lay hands upon the Mani Katti. Touch the blade's pattern, and pray for a safe journey."

"Oh, thank you so much!"

As Lyn touched the sword there was suddenly a very strange light that shot throughout the room. For some reason the feeling felt very familiar… As if I had stumbled upon something very like this in my past. I don't think I ever had before I missed something of what the Priest said but I understood enough in my current haze that the Mani Katti had chosen Lyn to be its wielder.

As we left the shrine I heard Sain exclaim, "So this is the Mani Katti? A blade with no equal."

"This is all so unbelievable. Perhaps the most famous sword in all of Sacae in my hand."

"It's not so strange. In fact, many legends tell similar tales? Special blades all over the land call out to their proper owners. And yet, when I saw you draw that blade, Lyndis? I felt something extraordinary. That sword was waiting for you. You were meant to draw it." Kent countered.

"Stop it! I-I'm nothing special!"

"I tend to disagree Lyn. You found me unconscious on the plains, saved my life and have been fighting to protect yourself and I this entire time. You are someone special I know of few people who would do such a thing." As I said this I noticed a faint bit of red staining Lyn's cheeks. Could it be that I had not just embarrassed her but she values my compliment more than that of just a friend? No it couldn't be. I don't give out many compliments as such and I just embarrassed Lyn by saying so. Maybe I should try to embarrass her more often just for fun, to lighten the mood every once and a while. I made a mental note to do so more often.

"Think of it this way: Some weapons feel more comfortable in your hand, right? Well, the Mani Katti itself feels very comfortable with you. Does it make it any easier for you to accept? It doesn't appear that either of us can use it." Sain agreed.

"It does feel right in my hand. A blade that only I can wield. That seems reasonable enough. I can understand that. Look at it, Anson. This is the Mani Katti. This is my sword. I must care for it well.

As we set up camp I posed the question of practicing blade play with Kent, Sain, and Lyn. Lyn especially didn't seem too enthused about it. "You could get hurt! Do you have any idea what you are doing?"

"Yeah, I know that the pointy end goes into the other man." I said with a big grin.

At this Kent and Sain started to laugh. They had caught on that I knew how to use the weapon in some fashion to make a joke like that.

After that Kent produced two practice blades for us to use against each other. No head or neck shots were allowed of course.

"Right then Anson; let me see your guard stance." I held my sword with one hand and assumed the fencer's en guard position in fencing despite me wielding a normal long sword instead of something like a rapier. I was quickly hit of the arm by Kent, "No you hold the blade in both hands and you want to keep a high guard so that you can come down and not up to defend yourself. The high guard you want is called the Crest of the Falcon. You have a high guard and strike down from on high like this." With that Kent did some diagonal slashing motions. I had soon caught on and was quickly defending every blow that Kent could throw at me.

"You are getting very good at this Anson now let me try Kent!"

Soon Sain and I were sparring with the practice blades with Kent and Lyn watching on. The feel of a double-edged blade just seemed to feel very natural in my hands. I rarely had ever held a sword like this in my life but I was using many of the techniques I had learned from fencing, and they were proving quite effective and capable once I could adjust those moves to a one or two handed style instead of a purely one handed style. The large and sweeping prime parry was one of the most useful against moth Kent and Sain. Finally I had enough and was thoroughly worn out.

As I walked back to the ground where the cooking was being done much to my surprise Lyn marched up to me and gave me a hard thwack on the head with the hilt of her old sword.

"What in the name of Mother Earth and Father Sky were you thinking Anson? Your job is to be our tactician! Not to practice swords and almost get your head split open! We need your mind and strategies, not your muscle and prowess as a swordsman! Do you hear me?"

Needless to say, I was frightened out of my mind by this display. I had never seen Lyn so angry at me or anyone since the time I met her. I was finally able to answer her with, "I understand Lyn, but it never hurts to be prepared for different circumstances. What if I need to use this sometime? Or if I'm off on my own? I will need to be able to defend myself in such cases. I do accept that a tactician's place is directing the battle, not being in it if possible. After all a general who picks up a spear in place of the scepter becomes another soldier."

She continued to glare but her eyes had softened somewhat.

"I promise to be careful and to train sparingly as long as we travel together. Is that okay with you Lyn?"

"Hmph, fine, but you better only be practicing once every few days at the most. We need you for other things."

I grinned at this as the four of us sat down to a warm dinner with good company before bedding down for the night.

Meanwhile in Castle Caelin:

"What? Madelyn's daughter is still alive?" Lundgren suddenly cried out

"Uhh. Yes, Lord Lundgren. The girl is traveling with Kent and Sain. What are your orders? If we let them be?"

"Bah! I've heard that northern Bern is full of bandits. She's just a girl. She'll not survive her journey here. I'm more concerned with my older brother. His life must be ended quickly. The poison? There must be no blunders."

"Yes, m'lord. He suspects nothing and continues to drink it. The marquess's death, due no doubt to "sudden illness" is not far off.

"Heh heh heh. Soon Caelin will be mine!"

Meanwhile in Bern:

Nergal had recently arrived in the nation of Bern from his fortress on the Dread Isle. He had felt a disturbance in magical signature in the area recently. It was a strange force. It did not seem to really know what it was or what it could do. He would have investigated it further but the source and signature was quickly gone. The strangest thing beyond its sudden disappearance was how strong it was. A person with that much magical strength could easily rival him or the Archsage in strength alone.

This disturbed him greatly since the source was not at all clear. He must have this force join him, or better yet be subservient to him. If not the creature or person must die quickly or his plans could go to ruins. He knew the Archsage couldn't stop him directly in this set of plans. But this new force if it surfaced again easily could.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Band of Mercenaries

As the days progressed we reached a town that seemed to be devastated by bandits. This close to the mountains on the border of Bern was truly a haven for those up to no good who preyed on the weak. Unfortunately for the four of us we had to travel this path. Since it was one of the best routes from the area of Sacae we were in to the border of Lycia. I could see Lyn begin to tense up, then she spoke,

"This place... It's..."

"The entire area is in ruins. Why doesn't their Marquess do anything to help?" Sain inquired.

"Taliver Mountain is home to a gang of vicious, ruthless bandits. No Marquess holds power here. My village was near here, on the other side of the mountain. My people were. The Taliver bandits came at night. It took only one night. The survivors numbered less than ten, including me. They are soulless beasts. I will never forgive them. Never."

"Lyndis..."

"I am not running away. I will be back... someday. I'll be stronger... I will break their swords beneath me like twigs beneath a stallion's hooves. I will avenge my people. I'll do everything in my power."

"When the time comes, bring me with you."

"Sain."

"Don't forget me, either." Kent answered

"And me three, I would miss it for the world."

"Kent... Oh! You, too, Anson? I... You're... thank you."

As we continued to walk into w=town there was a screech of

"Don't you dare touch her!" Followed by a plead of, "Do what you will with me, just... Let her go. Please, I beg of you."

As we hear that Lyn rushed over and saw a Pegasus standing there. The creature was just like that out of a storybook from Greek mythology. The man hair and mane and the white wings of a Pegasus were unmistakable. I was soon brought out of my revelry when I realized that we would have to fight to protect the Pegasus, her rider, the villagers as well as ourselves. So my mind was furiously coming up with a strategy.

"No chance. The girls goes with us- by force if need be! Hey! C'mon out now, boys! The men are fair game, but don't put a scratch on the girls!

"Anson! We've got to fight back!"

The woman, Florina, seemed a bit nervous to put it lightly.I guess a confidence boost was in order for her but still. That made it more difficult.

"Lyn! I!"

"You're a pegasus knight, aren't you? You can fight, can't you?"

"...Yes!"

"Listen carefully, Anson. We're facing bandits. They're underlings, but we can't take them too lightly. Let's clear them out of here. Are you ready? The layout around here might make it difficult to fight. The same holds true for our foe, too. If we use these walls just so, they may ensure our victory."

"Lyn... Who's that?"

"This is Anson. He's still an apprentice, but he's my tactician."

"Oh, I see... Uh... Anson? I'm pleased to meet you."

"It is a pleasure to meet you Florina."

Then I gave my orders. "Lyn first I need you to go visit the nearby houses and tell them to lock up to prevent bandit attacks. After that you Kent and Sain are to try to eliminate the bandits coming from the walls. Find a bottleneck and eliminate them there. That way their numbers mean very little. And we could use the advantage. Florina, I want you to go quickly to the village over the wall and tell them the same thing as Lyn is telling the villagers in the closer village. Then come back got it?" As each of them nodded they set about their tasks.

Lyn quickly returned with someone from the village, an archer named Wil. He seemed pretty good with the bow he carried and to me this was a very good thing. We could really use some long range support. He was also a very likable and amenable person. The type you could trust with a task.

The bandits were not very good at organizing and tried to use their superior numbers, yet we had the advantage of the perfect bottleneck in the walls so that their numbers meant a lot less. As Florina was returning she suddenly gave out a cry of alarm. Lyn and I whipped our heads around to see Florina cowering away from Wil as she was returning from her mission.

"Lyn! What should I do? There's an archer!"

"What? Where! Oh, that's Wil."

"Hi! You're one of Lyn's friends?"

"Um…"

"What... What is it? Are you unwell?"

"I'm sorry, Wil. Her name is Florina. She's timid around men, and you... you've got a bow."

"Oh! I see! You must be a pegasus kngiht! I apologize for frightening you, but I do understand your fear of bows.

"I... um... ...I'm sorry... Even looking... at a... bow... frightens me ever so much..."

"Of course, I understand! But you should really only fear the enemy's archers, not your own."

"Yes... of course..."

I sighed. With that taken care of we could return to aiding Kent and Sain against the main rush of the bandits. Wil shot his arrows from behind the two knights and soon there was a break in the ranks and I ordered Kent, Sain, Lyn and Florina to charge in quickly and finish off the rest of the bandit force.

It finally was down to the final bandit. Wil peppered the man with a few arrows while he had open shots. Unfortunately the man had decided to go after Florina. The man attacked but the arrow in his side slowed him down. As he raised his axe Florina desperately thrust her lance. Remarkably the lance went into his chest and through his heart killing him instantly. The battle was won. But the man had warned of more of his group. We were finally able to do a meet of all the members of our little band. Lyn started it off

"That's finally taken care of!"

"Lyn!"

"Florina... Why did you follow me? It's so dangerous."

"Do you remember the knighting ceremony of the Pegasus Knight of Ilia?"

"Yes, you join a band of freelance soldiers to further your training. Is that what brought you here, Florina?"

"Uh-huh. I wanted to talk to you before I set out. But when I went to Sacae, I heard that you had left with some strangers, and..."

"You were worried for me? Thank you, but I'm more worried about you."

"Me?"

"Listen, most mercenaries are men, right? Bands of men? I can't imagine you being at all comfortable around them."

"I know, I know. It's just... I've always dreamt of being a Pegasus knight. I imagined I would just... work it out. Somehow. After today, I'm not so sure. Maybe I should just... give up."

"Florina... Don't cry... Yes! There's no reason to give up your dream! Hm?"

Just as Lyn said that the local womanizer of our band, Sain decided to intervene. Just what this shy girl needed…

"Lovely Florina! I have the most brilliant idea!" Needless to say Kent was none too pleased.

"Sain!"

"You should come with us! With the addition of Wil here, we're a fine group of soldiers, and freelance to boot!"

"Wait, did you just include me?"

"Of course! We were destined to meet here! It's fate! Come now, Lyndis's band of mercenaries is as good a training group as you will find anywhere!"

"Sain... This is no joking matter!"

"Lyndis? Um, Lyn? Mercenaries?"

"I can give you details later. This is all a bit rushed. However, Sain is right. Will you come with us, Florina?"

"Travel with you, Lyn? Truly? I would be so... so happy!"

"Fantastic! Beauteous Florina! I am a knight of Caelin. My name is Sain..."

"Eeek! Stay back! Don't get so close."

Well, at least the women in our group know how to avoid the walking, talking man-flirt of the group when it comes to relationships. But I knew all too well that many women do prefer people like Sain over people like me.

"Ah... Beautiful, and yet so modest!"

"I beg your forgiveness. Calling us mercenaries..."

"No, I approve. We can't leave Florina on her own. She requires special attention, though. Can I count on you?"

"Yes! You have but to ask."

"So... Is it really all right if I travel with you?"

"Oh, yes. Of course! If you're willing, Wil."

"Actually, I'm very grateful. Truth be told, all of my money was stolen, and I'm... at a bit of a crossroads. I would be honored to count myself one of Lyndis's Legion!"

"Lyndis's Legion"? This is getting stranger with every day, Anson."

At that I laughed heartily. Of course things would get stranger. To me the strangeness was some of the best part of the adventure.

"I find it amusing Lyn. It makes traveling more fun. The new people that you meet and the quirks is what a lot of traveling is about. It is the fun part."

As the joking continued throughout the night we laughed and made plans on where to stay the next night since the bandits would soon be on our trail again. We decided to stop at an old run-down abandoned fort.


	5. Chapter 4

A/N: I thank those of you for the reviews. I am not an English major of any kind so your advice was helpful. I accept this will mostly follow the game script for now with minor changes. Lyn's story (1st 10 chapters is a prologue to the actual story. It is generally the same here. I will just in depth in the in between year as much as my imagination allows me to anyways. But that is neither here nor there right now. So on with the story.

Chapter 4: In Occupation's Shadow

The first thing that came from Wil's mouth was one of the worst things travelers that like comfort like to hear, especially in a run-down old fort.

"Ah, this should suffice! Tonight's bed!"

"This mildewy old fortress? Is this the best we can do? Come, Wil! Surely you jest!"

I should have guessed. It's Sain that would grieve over not have proper lodgings. He strikes me as a player, but a knight nonetheless so therefore he would definitely know how to survive without an inn. But he would just complain about it. Heh, I might as well get some enjoyment out of this. As I thought this Wil was continuing.

"The bandits keep everything in turmoil around here. No one has time to worry about travelers. And there are rather a lot of us."

"This will be fine. Who wants to be stuck inside, anyway? I prefer a place where I can feel the wind blow." Lyn spoke up quickly before other objections could be raised.

"As long as I'm at Lyn's side, I'll be fine."

This suddenly got me thinking. Is Florina possibly a lesbian who loves Lyn? Even if she isn't this would be a great way to make some mischief to at the very least lighten some spirits amongst us. I suppose that being a tactician in the group is a very good job for me. Even when I'm not scheming out battle plans I'm scheming, sometimes before I even consciously realize it. Some may not be able to tell between me and a politician with all my schemes. I'm going to need to rein this stuff in…

I had lost some of the conversation. But suddenly I became aware of another presence in the old fort besides us. I was about to point out the presence but suddenly I heard a feminine voice come about of the fortress proper.

"Your pardon, milady..."

"Who's there?" Lyn quickly responded. I noticed that she had her hand gripped on the hilt of the Mani Katti. She had been set on edge.

"I... Forgive my intrusion... My name's Natalie. I'm from a village not far from here... Ah! Ow..."

"Are you all right? Hm? Your leg..."

"It's fine. Don't worry. It's from a childhood sickness... I can't travel far on it, but it doesn't trouble me much."

At this point Lyn had released her grip and had gone to help the woman who was obviously in pain. As I saw this, I fervently wished that I studied medicine instead of engineering and politics. Then again I never had the motivation or the interest for it. I just knew basic first aid. So there was not that I could really do at the time. Lyn continued,

"What are you doing here all by yourself?"

"I'm looking for my husband... I heard he was in this area. He said he was going to raise money to have my leg mended. He left the village and hasn't returned. He's a kindhearted man, but I think he might be involved in something dangerous. I got so worried... Here's a sketch of him.

It's a poor likeness at best, but... His name is Dorcas. Do you know of him?"

"I'm sorry. I don't believe I've seen or heard of him.

"I see... If you do meet him, please give him a message. Tell him that Natalie is looking for him."

"I will tell him. I promise."

She then showed Lyn a picture. I quickly looked over her shoulder to see the sketch. On the sketch was a man with longish hair slicked back and a frown on the man. I quickly went over all of the people we had met up with and none of them looked like him. I decided to ask some more questions anyways.

"Natalie what color hair does your husband have?"

It was then that I noticed all my companions staring at me. I admit I had been engrossed in my own thoughts most of the time. But she answered kindly.

"He has deep red hair on his head and face good sir."

"Thank you. And no need for that I am not a gentleman, my name is Anson. I am but a man who sometimes understands things. Rest assured if we find Dorcas we will deliver the message and have him come to you as soon as we can."

"Thank you so much for that Anson."

As we agreed and were about to start the evening supper before it got far too dark than it already was at twilight Kent spotted bandits.

"Lady Lyndis! Outside the fortress! Bandits!"

"What did you say?"

"Persistent bunch, aren't they? What do you think? Shall we go out and face them?" Sain quickly retorted.

"No... Natalie cannot move well, and that would put her in danger. Let them come to us. We'll fight here, within these walls. Anson, take over. The command is yours. All we have to do is hold out until they tire and leave. Rest easy, Natalie. No one will harm you! Listen, everyone! Fight with caution!"

With that I quickly took command. I already had seen the entirety of the ruined fort so I knew there were two entrances that could be used. There was one entrance on the east side and one on south side. But I needed more information. I needed the number of our enemy and more about the rest of the fortress.

"Florina go to the west side of the fortress with Wil and try to find anything that could be suspicious that could be used for us or against us. Kent and Sain you will guard the south entrance. Use it as a choke point so you will only have to face one bandit each at a time. Lyn and I will go to the eastern entrance and cut them off there at that choke point. Florina I need you to report to me as soon as you have the information or lack thereof for me."

As I finished everyone was already off to the action. I had to sprint to catch up with Lyn. Not an easy feat since I am not extremely fast like she is. My arms are faster than my feet are.

I caught up to Lyn because she had suddenly stopped. She must have seen something I had not since without warning she threw herself back pushing me over onto the ground with her at the same time. Normally this would have been a very awkward situation, but the danger we were in made it much less so.

"You alright Anson?"

"Huh… Yeah, I'm fine, just a little winded is all."

"Good. But doesn't that man look a lot like the sketch that Natalie had?"

Come to think of it the man did look a lot like that rough sketch. He was working for the bandits. This would not turn out well. As I was trying to figure out the best course of action Lyn chose it for me. She walked up and suddenly asked the axe toting man,

"You! Tell me, are you Dorcas?"

"... How do you know my name?"

"Natalie told me. What are you doing with these rogues?"

"I need money."

"That may be, but... joining up with mercenaries?"

"It's the only way to earn gold in these parts. I'll do anything... even this."

"For gold? Anything? Would you hurt your wife? Natalie is here! We're protecting her within this fortress!"

"What! Natalie's... She's here?"

"She was so worried that she came looking for you. Think, Dorcas! Would your actions please your wife?"

"You're right."

"Well?"

"I understand. I can't do this. I'm done with these bandits. Here and now."

"Really?"

"Yes... And I would repay you for your kindness toward Natalie. Allow me to fight for you."

So now we had an axe wielder on our side. I finally received what I was waiting for, Florina; I quickly motioned her over towards me to relay her information.

"A portion of the wall on the west side is severely weakened and it's getting worse with the bandits attacking that spot. Wil is feathering them with arrows but they soon will break through."

I nodded and then turned to Dorcas.

"Are there any reinforcements coming?"

"A few swordsmen, they are not very skilled at all. Carjiga, the leader is almost due south of where we are."

"Thanks. Florina I want you to stay as hidden as possible and take down those swordsmen. Do whatever needs to be done besides dying to keep those bandits out of the east entrance of the fortress."

"Got it."

"Dorcas quickly lead us to their leader. If we can take him down maybe they will retreat for good."

"Yes, most of these bandits here are cowards forced by pride or fear into coming they will certainly leave us alone if he is defeated."

With that we were quickly led to Carjiga.

When we reached Carjiga we saw that Kent and Sain were doing an excellent job to the point of there were only enough bandits coming that one of them could have handled it alone. And this was well because the west wall had fallen and a couple of bandits were now facing Kent and Wil while Sain defeated another bandits coming from the south. Then the three of us confronted the ugly man.

"What are you waiting for? She's just a child! A Girl! Grrr! Get more men up here now!"

As he spoke those words Dorcas's hand axe took him in the shoulder and Lyn's sword quickly sliced into his chest. The leader, who looked tough, had not been a challenge for these two at all. I certainly felt pride for those on our side. More than I had before. As he fell I heard a,

"Curses! They're not human! Listen up, rogues! Retreat! Pull back!"

Lyn suddenly turned to me and flung her arms around my neck in the high spirit of the moment. I instinctively returned the embrace despite my blushes, which luckily Lyn couldn't see. However, I believe Florina noticed this. Oh no, I was in for it later. Then again it could be worse, Wil, Kent or even worse, Sain could have noticed that. She soon released me and I quickly turned to Dorcas and Natalie.

"Hey, listen Dorcas, you are a good man and fighter and we could use you in the days to come. We are traveling to Caelin in Lycia to take Lyn to meet her grandfather. Why don't you join us? I'm sure we could help you get that money you need to pay for Natalie's operation."

At that Dorcas and Natalie both smiled and Dorcas extended his hand to me.

"I think we have a deal Anson, I will join you in the morning after I drop Natalie back off at our small village in Bern."

"Alright then see you tomorrow morning. We'll be sure to wait for you."

And off he went to inform Lyn of his plan. Another member added to Lyndis'Legion. We soon had supper and were preparing for bed. Lyn had already gone off. And Kent and Sain were on guard duty. Wil also had fallen asleep. But Florina quickly approached me.

"Are you a shy man at heart Anson?"

I have to say I lost my cool demeanor right there with the incredulity written all over my face at the question. It must have been quite a site to see. She giggled at my expression and gave her a dirty look.

"Well maybe you aren't but you certainly have a thing for my friend Lyn."

"I fail to see what this has to do with my work Florina."

"Well you are always near her but when it comes to hugs you always seem to blush when it is around her, yet you haven't shown that with other women."

"And how many other women have you seen hug me?"

"Just her but that is beside the point you like her don't you?"

"Of course I like her. If I didn't I wouldn't have stuck around so long. Besides what is your real relationship with Lyn if we are asking personal questions of this sort?"

She blushed heavily at my insinuation. And primly responded with,

"She saved me on the plains and we have been friends ever since. When we were younger we also went boy hunting for a cute guy. But never really found ones for our tastes. You haven't answered my question to the fullest yet."

Damn, well it was worth a try,

"Well what does it matter to you?"

"I'm Lyn's friend and have every right to judge a man who is interested in her."

"Listen Florina, Lyn is certainly very attractive, but that doesn't mean either of us are right for the other. I would rather us stay professional until this journey is over or we've had some more time to get to know each other before choosing something like that. I certainly do like her but I don't know if it will go anywhere."

At that she smiled,

"You passed my test. I needed to know that you would stay professional throughout our journey so that all of us would stay alive from your commands. But it also shows you are looking at her not just as an object for, well you know."

"I don't know if I can keep everyone alive. I'm going to try my damnedest but that means nothing in some cases. Sometimes even the best of warriors fall to a stray arrow. I promise you and everyone in our group this I will do everything I can to make a strategy to keep us all alive. But understand I can't control everything. Sometimes bad things just happen."

"Thank you for that good night, lover boy."

"Good night my delusional friend"

And with that I went to sleep with another worry clouding my mind. Would I ever get home? What did that gypsy mean my name was but a name for the time being? And finally, am I falling in love with the woman who saved my life? And if I am will I ever want to go back to my world?

Athos the Archsage closed his eyes. The Wheel of Fate had begun to turn again for him. Again he would try in vain to stop it. He was reminded of the young Lord Wizard Anarion Elendil and how he had helped him and his companions in the Scouring. That young man had help create each of the divine weapons to some extent and then soon after the end of the Scouring had disappeared as if he had never been. That magical force in Sacae those weeks ago intrigued him. But many things did that, he was getting too old for these sorts of things in the world. He thought soon it would be time to retire.


End file.
